The Crow dubbed ‘terrible and dire’ – and even worse than Madame Web

Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs star in the film, which reboots a franchise that has never managed to top its 1994 original

The long-in-the-works reboot of The Crow has been met by a dismal response from audiences, many of whom have dubbed it the worst film of 2024.

Released in cinemas on Friday, though not screened for critics in advance, The Crow stars Bill Skarsgård as a troubled youth who transforms himself into a supernatural vigilante after his girlfriend (played by musician FKA Twigs) is murdered.

The film marks the first sequel in the Crow franchise to receive a cinema release since 1996’s The Crow: City of Angels, but reactions from fans suggest it might have been smarter to dump the movie on streaming rather than give it a full unveiling.

“Just watched The Crow,” wrote one audience member on Twitter/X. “What a mess of a film … uninspired, directionless, and worst of all, boring.”

Another wrote: “Gave The Crow a chance and I think I just possibly have seen the worst movie I have ever watched… absolutely terrible and dire 1/10.”

Others have also remarked that it’s so bad that it’s comfortably dethroned a host of other poor movies to become their least favourite film of 2024.

“Move over Borderlands, Madame Web, and Night Swim – The Crow has crashed hard into the running for worst movie of 2024 so far,” one person tweeted. “Talk about a remake and adaptation that does everything wrong including casting two leads with zero chemistry.”

Another person wrote: “Madame Web might not be the worst comic book movie of the year. The Crow might be now.”

“The Crow remake is so bad that the theatre was audibly upset every five minutes as it transpired,” tweeted another. “It makes Madame Web look like high art.”

Bill Skarsgård in ‘The Crow’ (Lionsgate)

Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, was released in February to dismal reviews and terrible box office. The Independent’s film critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote that it seemed “embarrassed by its own existence”.

The Crow, meanwhile, is expected to open to around $8m (£6m) at the US box office this weekend, and put to sleep a franchise that has struggled to ever match the cult success of its original film.

Released in 1994, the first Crow starred Brandon Lee as the titular hero. Lee was tragically killed in an on-set accident, when a loaded gun was accidentally used during filming of a scene.

The Crow: City of Angels followed in 1996, with Vincent Perez in the starring role. Eric Mabius and Edward Furlong played the part in subsequent straight-to-video sequels, while actors including Bradley Cooper, Luke Evans, James McAvoy and Jason Momoa were all at one point linked to the reboot during its lengthy development.